We’re in the final stretch of LOVE Week 2014 and we’re just breaking the surface on the incredible impact we will see volunteers make throughout our communities. If you haven’t joined in on the LOVE Week action or if you’ve been serving all week and can’t get enough there’s still plenty more to do!

This weekend at every Elevation location, bring new or gently used items for “Stuff the Truck.” We’ll take your gifts to Crisis Assistance Ministry and other local organizations.

Here are seven more opportunities for you to sign up and serve.

Do you enjoy brightening someone’s day? Volunteers are needed at Hope Cancer Ministries to bring a hot meal to patients and their families in the Charlotte area. Sign up and join us today, Thursday July 31 from 11:30 am – 4 pm

Elevation ROA has a couple great opportunities left to serve with neat organizations. Help out at Ronald McDonald House or our friends with Roanoke city parks. Click HERE to learn more.

Do you enjoy music or like to sing? Then this event is for you. You’re invited to be a part of the choir and serve a meal at Supportive Housing Communities on July 31 from 5-7 pm. Sing along and serve HERE.

What could be more fun than food, rides, and games? Volunteer on August 1 to set up and run a carnival for the residents at Holy Angels in Belmont. From 9 am-12 pm or 1-3:30 pm, you can celebrate with an organization providing specialized care, innovative learning programs, and is empowering those who are differently able. Sign up to celebrate HERE.

Tear down and rebuild at Charlotte Rescue Mission. Volunteers are needed to help in the demolition of old worn out fences and installation of new fencing in several areas throughout the campus. Improve the security and appearance of this safe haven for those who are homeless and battling addiction in the Charlotte area on August 2 from 9 am – 12 pm by clicking HERE.

Support the facility where our Elevation Rock Hill campus meets each week by cleaning up the grounds at Sullivan Middle School. Join us on August 2 from 8 am-12 pm to prepare this area for church and the return of students in the fall. Make your mark by signing up HERE.

It’s Christmas in the summer! Come out to Barium Springs Home for Children on August 2 from 10-12 am to prepare Christmas supplies for children who are in group homes, therapeutic foster care, and adoptions. Give the gift of service this season HERE.

And don’t forget, to wrap up LOVE Week, we are gathering with our church under one roof at Time Warner Cable area to record our new live worship album. There are only a few seats left so reserve your seat today by ordering your ticket on the Elevation Worship Live webpage. We will be collecting canned food donations at the event. We cannot wait to celebrate all that God has done through our church and will continue to do in the future. We hope you will join us in this unforgettable night of worship. See you there!

Over the past year, I feel like our worship team has gone to a new level. The songs they have written are some of my favorites ever. In just a few weeks, we will be celebrating together as our worship team records some of these new songs live!! This special night of worship will close out Love Week 2014 and we hope you will join us.

The Elevation Worship Live Recording is at Time Warner Cable Arena on August 1, 2014. Doors open at 6PM..

You can reserve your seat for a suggested donation of $10. If for some reason you’re unable to afford that, we still want you to attend though. Visit elevationworshiplive.com for more information and to register today. All seating is General Admission.

Oh, and it wouldn’t be right if we were closing out LOVE Week without giving you one last opportunity to love on our city. We will be hosting a Canned Food Drive for Second Harvest Food Bank. Please bring canned goods to donate at the door.

Every spring our staff does a nutrition and exercise challenge. We love to compete. This year the challenge includes a nutritional, physical and spiritual element, we are calling it, A-May-Zing! Each person can design their own plan. Even our boys are competing!

My husband and I are eliminating grains and added sugar as well as drinking 64 oz of water per day (this is how he basically eats anyway). My boys are eliminating sweets and sweet drinks (water and white milk only) 5 days a week.

For exercise we are doing at least 30 minutes of exercise 5 days a week. The boys count baseball or 30 minutes of outside activity.

For our spiritual plan we are memorizing 1Peter 1:3-9 and reading through the book of 1Peter every week.

I’ll be posting some recipes over the next month. Also check out my friend, Lindsay’s blog for more recipes. Everything she makes is always delicious!

For today I want to share my favorite recipe for mashed cauliflower (It’s actually Lindsay’s!) now before you turn your nose up, you really should try it. I am not a fan of cauliflower but this is really, truly delicious (especially when served with beef)

Directions
Bring cauliflower garlic and chicken stock to a boil, lower to simmer and cook until cauliflower is tender

Once cooked drain cauliflower and place in a blender or food processor with the butter (you can use a hand mixer too but it may not be as smooth). Blend until fine. Add yogurt and blend again. Add cheese and blend.

I am so excited! Our worship team released an EP today with two of my favorite new songs we have been singing at Elevation! Unstoppable God and my personal favorite, Jesus I Come. There is also a new version of Raised to Life available as well! We have these songs on repeat in the car and in the house!

The day is finally here!!! This book has been in the makings for so long. I am so proud of my husband for this. Having watched the process of writing a book 3 times now, I can tell you that it doesn’t get any easier the 3rd time around. There was a lot of resistance against this book and I know that is because the message is so great.

As I said yesterday, I read the first chapter with tears in my eyes because it was exactly what I needed to hear in that moment and I guarantee it will be the same for you. In this book my husband teaches us how to hear God above the voices of insecurity, fear, condemnation and discouragement.

And today, to kick off the release of this book, we are doing a live radio show from 10am-6pm!! Pastor Steven will be joined with Lysa TerKuerst as they interview guests such as Christine Caine, Pastor Craig Groeschel, Louie Giglio, and so many others. It is going to be a great day.

This weekend we started a new initiative called 52 Days of Thanks and Praise. We want to fill the rest of the year with thanksgiving for all that the Lord has done.

When the new year rolls around, I always have the tendency to focus on all the negative things from the previous year that I want to change. This year I want to go into the new year focused on all the amazing things God has done in me and for me and around me and all the things He will continue to do.

We are starting our day with thanks. To help us out Elevation created this website with a new confession of thanksgiving and praise every day for us to read out loud. Check it out here. I hope you will join us here and on social media as we fill the atmosphere with our gratefulness because we truly do have so much to be thankful for.

This weekend we began our 2-week series, Raised to Life! And what an amazing weekend it was. When my kids and I were watching all the people getting baptized I told them, “Guys, this is why we do everything we do!”

My husband’s message on baptism was clear and inspiring! But rather than tell you about it, I want to show you mothers and daughters, fathers and sons, brothers and sisters, entire families and many many people professing their faith to the world.

One of my favorite things we do at Elevation is baptisms. They are so special and meaningful. They always encourage me to know that what we do really matters. But the best kind of baptism to watch is the baptism of your friend.

Last night, to kick off our Raised to Life series, we whet everyone’s appetite with a few baptisms, and one of them was my friend, Melissa. Here is a rough video of the night…

I cannot wait for this weekend! Would you pray with me for all the people who will take the step of faith this weekend? Also pray for all of our teams that will be setting up and preparing and carrying out the event. All across our campuses, it is going to be awesome!

2 1/2 years ago, our church had a goal to serve 10,000 hours during our first LOVE week. Isn’t it amazing what God can do when a group of people unite under one vision? This year together, we served 58,720 hours in the US and Canada!!!

420,00 meals packaged for distribution to malnourished children in the US and around the world

6 Habitat home construction sites

500 school uniforms collected for homeless children

3,000 backpacks assembled for under resourced children

1,500 shoe boxes packaged for Operation Christmas Child

6 trucks of clothing donated

514 units of blood given, impacting up to 1,542 lives

Over $400,000 given away because of the generous givers at Elevation Church

And perhaps my favorite number, 3,664 hours served by kids. How exciting is it to know that we are raising up a generation of kids who love to serve others in need.

The best part is, the love doesn’t stop with LOVE week. There are so many ways you can get involved on an ongoing basis with your kids, your spouse, your eGroup, and more. Check out ElevationOutreach.com for ongoing opportunities.

I’ll leave you with a picture of my kids last Sunday, excited to go to Ekidz to turn in their LOVE week logs and collections. Have a great weekend!!